


Hale heritage

by triggeringthehealing (froggydarren)



Series: FullmoonFiclet Entries [84]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Established Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, M/M, Multilingual Derek, Stiles Stilinski Speaks Polish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-25 16:14:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12039558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggydarren/pseuds/triggeringthehealing
Summary: "You speak many languages, Derek Hale." He does, but it's not like anyone knows. Until he and Stiles head to Europe to explore where their ancestors came from.





	Hale heritage

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Full Moon Ficlet](https://fullmoon-ficlet.livejournal.com/508453.html) challenge on Livejournal - prompt #237: multilingual

London is not surprising. The language, after all, is the same. The only odd thing is how easily Derek slips into the local accents, but Stiles chalks that up to supernatural hearing and the ability to pick up the subtler notes in the local people’s voices.

But then they go further north, and suddenly there’s Scottish Gaelic, which Derek manages to communicate in just fine. When Stiles asks about it, Derek tells him that it’s a family thing — that the Hales used to live on both sides of the Scottish border, and some ancestors still remained in the country. They didn’t find them, but that wasn’t surprising, since they couldn’t just ask for the local werewolf pack. Stiles conceded that the explanation was legitimate after he scoured the internet for ancestry records and did find Hales in Scotland.

When the same happens in Ireland with Gaelic, Stiles’s suspicion only gets worse. But still, it’s two foreign languages, and they have similarities.

But then they travel across the Channel, and reach France, Derek converses fluently with the locals again, this time without the excuse of family heritage. When he does it in Spain, Stiles calls bullshit on that reason, and asks Derek about it.

“That’s four languages now, Derek,” he says, not unkindly, just a little put off that he didn’t know. “What’s your deal?”

Derek ducks his head and stays silent for a while, like he’s trying to think of an explanation that would stop Stiles’s curiosity, but not just tell the truth. When he finally looks up, it’s with a hint of sadness in his face, and Stiles immediately regrets asking. Before he can take his question back, Derek starts talking.

“It was a thing, before,” he says. “When I was a kid. We all had something, like you have your research and investigation. Laura was the artist, Cora did science. I had languages. It’s something I apparently inherited from my Mom, I picked them up easily. After,” he pauses. “Afterwards I just kept learning. It was something to do.”

“That’s pretty awesome,” Stiles says as he reaches out to link his fingers with Derek’s. “I mean, that you’re so good at it, and that you kept it up.”

“Made me think of Mom,” Derek says quietly. “She loved it because it made negotiations easier.”

“So, how many languages _do_ you speak, Mr. Hale?” Stiles asks, hoping to lighten the mood a little. “And do you speak any Slavic ones?”

Derek grins. “If you’re wondering whether I could understand your Dad and you gossiping about the pack,” he chuckles when Stiles’s eyes widen, “then yes, I do speak Polish. It’s a little rusty, but I’m sure I’ll catch on when we get there.”

Stiles sputters with indignation, and Derek kisses the protest right off his lips. Then he pulls away from Stiles’s lips, and grins.

“So, you never told me either that you’re fluent in Polish,” Derek says. “I only know because you and your Dad thought I was still asleep a few times, _lekkoduch_.”

The word makes Stiles pause, and he narrows his eyes. Derek has called him “little spark” a few times before, but hearing the word in Polish makes all the difference. Because Stiles knows precisely what it means.

“Oy, are you trying to tell me I’m a ne’er-do-well? Or is it that I talk too much?”

Derek grins, and Stiles huffs, then lets himself be pulled into another distracting kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://froggydarren.tumblr.com/) || [my sterek fic tumblr](http://triggeringthehealing.tumblr.com/)


End file.
